Nurse admitted to pricking baby, detective tells court

KAMPALA- A detective yesterday told court that Ms Rosemary Namubiru, the nurse at the centre of the storm for allegedly pricking a baby with contaminated cannula, agreed to committing the crime.

Ms Miriam Sayuni, a detective at Wandegeya Police Station in her testimony, told Buganda Road Court that she interrogated the suspect in the presence of Victoria Medical Centre medical director and her other colleagues and she admitted that she indeed committed the alleged offence.

Ms Namubiru is accused of pricking her index finger and then using the same contaminated cannula to prick the vein of a 34-month-old baby, aware that she was HIV-positive.

“Ms Namubiru told me that as she was trying to administer treatment to the little boy, she pricked her finger and went ahead to use the same cannula that pricked her to inject the child. After that confession, I arrested her and took her to Wandegeya Police Station,” Ms Sayuni said.

The detective, who was the fifth prosecution witness, also told court she took the suspect to the police surgeon for examination to ascertain her state of mind and it was established that she was sane.

She further narrated to the fully packed courtroom that the nurse confided in her this ugly incident happened because she was tired, hungry and nervous. Ms Namubiru is facing charges of ‘doing a negligent act’.

Prosecution led by Ms Lillian Omara alleges that on January 7, at Victoria Medical Centre in Kampala, Ms Namubiru while on duty pricked her index finger and then used the same cannula to prick the vein of a 34-months-old baby, aware that she was HIV-positive.

The trial Chief Magistrate, Ms Olive Kazaarwe, adjourned the matter to March 4.